Red Is The Color Of First Prize
by A Person4
Summary: Lara Croft ventures to Egypt in search of a Sacred icon, but a friend goes bad and gets in the way of Lara's plans. Please R/R!
1. Trouble

*Red Is The Color Of First Prize*  
  
By Andrew  
  
SHORT STORY #1  
  
PART I-  
  
Lara glanced out the top of her Ray-Ban sunglasses. She put down  
the binoculars, which she had just been looking into. She wiped off a  
trickle of sweat beading down her forehead. Weather like this was  
indeed expected. Hot, dry weather. Lara put her binoculars back up to  
her eyes. Nothing but sand covered the horizon.  
Lara slowly circled around, looking for some sign of nearby landmarks.  
She zoomed in all the way. Three pointy dots were now clearly visible.  
  
"Ah! The Giza Plateau," Lara told herself. She put down her  
binoculars once more. She reached behind and put them into her  
backpack. She took her right hand and used it as a visor. The Pyramids  
could be seen. Lara dropped her hand and turned around to her Jeep.  
Lara stumbled through the thick, stinging sand to the passenger's side  
door. She opened up the door, and reached in to get her water bottle.  
Once she got it, Lara gulped about half of it down, and put it back  
gently. Wiping the water off of her mouth, Lara took a seat in the  
Jeep, and put the key into the ignition.  
  
"What an adventure this will be," she mused while shifting the  
car into gear. The Jeep disappeared into the rolling sand dunes of the  
Sahara.  
  
It took about two hours until Lara reached Cairo. Cairo was a  
dwelling city. 'Modern City in an awkward landscape', Von Croy would  
often stress. How right he was.  
Lara steered the car along a winding road, leading into the city. She  
passed many legendary landmarks on the way. Some of which included the  
infamous Sphinx. Anyways, Lara drove right into the heart of Cairo.  
She was planning to meet a guide to help her make her way through King  
Geknht's maze- like tomb.  
  
Looking ahead, Lara ignored the strange looks that the Egyptian  
people gave her while entering the city. She was focused on getting  
where she needed to go. She wasn't going to let some un-wanted stare's  
to ruin her visit back to the land she knew so well. Her hair blew  
wildly in the wind; partial credit to the Jeep's open cockpit.  
  
Lara glanced to her left, and a small sign caught her attention.  
  
20 PERCENT OFF ALL TOURS! TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS DEAL WHILE IT LASTS!  
CONTACT MOHAMMED FOR MORE DETAILS  
  
"Mohammed, Mohammed. Where have I heard that name before?" Lara  
thought aloud. She gripped the steering wheel harder, and focused on  
thinking where the Tours of Egypt office was. Without thinking, Lara  
turned left on Renanda Road, and followed it all the way to the end.  
It turned out that that's exactly where that Tours of Egypt office  
was. Lara parked the Jeep, and walked across the street to meet her  
tomb guide.  
  
***  
"Welcome to the Tours of Egypt travel agency! How may I help  
you?" A woman asked Lara once she entered the small shack.  
  
"Yes, I'm looking for a Mohammed Mellvin. My name should be  
booked under the name of Miss Croft," Lara confirmed. The woman  
tightened the headset attached to her ears, and typed down something  
into a computer in front of her.  
  
"Ah, yes. That will be six-hundred and fifty dollars," the woman  
answered back gleefully. Lara reached into her back pocket, and took  
out a wallet. She pulled out a wad of green bills. Lara handed it to  
the receptionist. "Thank you, and have a nice day!" the woman beamed.  
  
A middle-aged man emerged from the back of the room. He was  
dressed in tan shrouds, and wore a cloth on his head, hiding his hair.  
Lara looked down, and saw that his shoes were not really shoes at all,  
but sandals made out of makeshift materials. He walked up to Lara.  
  
"Good day," he greeted with a heavy Arabic accent, and an arm  
extending outwards so that Lara could shake it. "My name is Mohammed,  
and I will be your guide today."  
  
"Lara Croft. Pleased to see you again," Lara said while shaking  
Mohamed's hand. Mohammed looked confused. "Lara Croft?" Lara repeated.  
"The one who discovered the Eye of Horus under your cautious watch?"  
Mohammed still looked confused.  
  
Lara took out one of her Beretta Inox pistols, and reloaded it  
with a fresh magazine.  
  
"Oh!" Mohammed realized. "So it is you again! Where are we off  
to today?"  
  
"Geknht's Mastaba please," Lara answered. "I very well wish to  
have the Scarab Of Geknht under my possession, before someone else  
beats me to it."  
  
"Very well. Shall we be on our way?" Mohammed asked.  
  
"Absolutely," Lara said.  
  
Mohammed smiled faintly, and gestured Lara into the van parked  
just outside of the agency. The sun beat down hard, and gave tourists  
of Cairo a bad impression. It wasn't always this hot. Only sometimes.  
  
Lara took Mohammed's gesture, and climbed into the van first.  
She took a seat in the worn out cloth chairs. It wasn't exactly a  
fancy ride. Mohammed got into the driver's seat, and buckled up his  
seatbelt. He glanced into the rearview mirror to see what Lara was  
doing.  
  
"Do not worry. We will be there soon," he said warmly, watching  
the young woman twiddle with her fingers.  
  
"That's quite alright," Lara answered back, without looking up.  
"I wasn't expecting a speedy delivery."  
  
Mohammed smiled again, and put his foot on the accelerator. The  
white van lurched forward, and the two were on their way.  
  
***  
It took about an hour, until Mohammed slowed down. The van  
gradually lost its high speed, and parked gracefully in front of a  
dark outlined rectangle of soil embedded into the sand.  
  
"We are here!" Mohammed broke the silence with a surprisingly  
happy sounding tone. He unbuckled his seatbelt with a click. Lara woke  
up from her 'not really sleeping' phase. She yawned, and straightened  
her arms in the air. "Miss Croft, I thought that you would be happy to  
see Geknht's Mastaba!" Mohammed claimed.  
  
"I am," Lara yawned again. She unbuckled herself, slid over the  
bench seat, and reached to the sliding door. She pulled on the handle,  
but the door didn't open. She shook the door furiously. Lara turned  
over to Mohammed, who was laughing without a sound. His teeth looked  
like square pearls. "Please open this door," she said, apparently a  
little grumpy. Mohammed, still laughing, reached over to his door, and  
pressed a button. The door unlocked, and Lara slipped out into the  
sand.  
  
Mohammed exited about a split-second later, and slammed the door  
shut, just as his guest did. He walked around the van, and waited  
until Lara got her gun holsters comfortably on her legs. The sun was  
now beating down harder than ever. It was absolutely ridiculous how  
the people of Egypt could possibly live, let alone build an empire, in  
such hot and humid weather conditions. It was truly a complete  
mystery, forever buried with the Egyptian royals.  
  
Lara loaded up her pistols, just in case something happened in  
the underground tunnels. Anything and everything could go wrong down  
there.  
  
"Are you ready now?" Mohammed asked, crossing his arms, and  
stomping his foot. Lara finished loading her Berettas with a round of  
armor piercing bullets. She put the safety on, and holstered them. She  
looked over at Mohammed.  
  
"Yes, I am ready," she stated.  
  
"Good. Let's get started!"  
  
Mohammed walked carefully to a bunch of stairs grouped together.  
Lara followed in his footsteps. Before descending into the abyss, Lara  
looked down.  
  
The stairs went on endlessly, and the only modern, and updated  
piece would be the metal banister planted firmly in the middle. As  
Lara looked down, the stairs became notches, and then into a solid  
slate foundation.  
  
Mohammed reached into his pocket, and pulled out a cigarette  
lighter. He then walked to the top of the banister, and took a torch  
from its holder. He flicked the lighter, and the torch illuminated  
with ominous fire. Mohammed started to walk down the endless flight of  
stairs. Lara followed him.  
  
The twosome's footsteps echoed across the curved ceiling  
stationed above. Lara descended with caution, knowing that one slip  
could have her tumbling down for quite a long time. She walked on for  
about three minutes, until noticing the banister following her down  
once again. She gave out a small groan, and walked up to it. She then  
wrapped one leg around the metal banister, and let gravity do the  
rest.  
  
Before sliding down to the bottom of the staircase, Lara gave  
Mohammed a warning.  
  
"Mohammed! Do as I am!" She yelled, her voice barely audible  
from such a long distance. Mohammed looked to his right, and saw Lara  
gliding down.  
  
"Wait! Wait!" He hollered, cupping his mouth so Lara could hear  
him.  
  
There was no answer.  
  
Mohammed walked up to the banister himself, and wrapped one leg  
around the opposite side. He gave himself a slight push, and he was on  
his long journey down. He slid for about a minute, until he reached  
the bottom, where Lara awaited him.  
  
"What took you so long?" she teased.  
  
"It was a long ride down, If I may say so myself," he answered.  
  
Lara looked up. The chamber that they were in had a tall ceiling  
with bright gold stars painted on a blue backdrop. It was astounding.  
Mohammed gasped, and covered his mouth.  
  
Even he was impressed. And he had traveled all over the world.  
  
The stars made the chamber feel like an open space, and the  
ceiling was the sky. Of course it wasn't, but it sure felt that way.  
  
"Did you know about this room before?" Lara asked, her thick  
English accent taking over.  
  
"No," Mohammed admitted. "There was a passageway branching off  
of the stairs back up there somewhere. We were supposed to take that  
passageway!" He pointed at the stairs.  
  
"A little too late for that?" Lara said. "We have to just  
continue on from here."  
  
She picked up her shoulders, and let them drop to her sides. She  
gave Mohammed a look. She shook her hand in the direction of the  
passage advancing ahead. Mohammed understood, and followed Lara into  
the long corridor.  
  
The air inside the corridor was musty. White clothes hung above  
Mohammed's head. He must have felt uncomfortable about them being  
close to his face, because in disgust, he pushed them aside. Still  
paying a small bit of attention to Lara ahead of him, Mohammed started  
to look at the walls surrounding him. They were covered with multiple  
groups of Hieroglyphics. He was indeed interested, so he ran forward,  
and tapped Lara lightly on her right shoulder.  
  
Lara hated being startled. She turned around, and pointed both  
of her pistols square in the middle of Mohammed's forehead. He jumped  
back.  
  
Lara, finally noticing what she had done, twirled both her  
pistols near the triggers, and slipped them back into their holsters.  
Mohammed swallowed with a gulp.  
  
"Next time, don't startle me like that! I was about to kill  
you," Lara yelled.  
  
Mohammed stood silent. He pointed to the wall to the left. Lara  
turned to look at Mohammed was looking at.  
  
"What does that say?" He asked curiously.  
  
Lara lit a flare located in her backpack, and put it against the  
writings on the corridor wall. She started to read.  
  
"You have ventured to far, I speak no more. Into a trap you will  
be lured," Lara translated. She looked up at Mohammed. He looked  
confused once more.  
  
"Don't worry. It's just some ancient 'hocus-pocus'," Lara  
explained. Mohammed nodded in acknowledgement.  
  
The two walked even further down the hallway. A strange musty  
smell claimed the air. The shrouds that got in Mohammed's way started  
to be placed in more specific places on the ceiling. They were either  
facing diagonally, or horizontally.  
  
Finally, a light could be seen at the end. Lara reached back  
into her backpack, and switched her pistols for a .55 Caliber  
Revolver. She reloaded it as she walked to the light.  
  
Mohammed got a little anxious, and tried to get ahead of Lara,  
and enter the next room first, but she extended her arm to the wall,  
which prevented him from getting through.  
  
Lara then took the safety off of the revolver, and walked into  
the next room.  
  
***  
  
The next room was filled with gold, and priceless pottery from  
head to toe. A huge statue of the powerful Egyptian god Anubis stood  
in the middle.  
  
"No wonder why we weren't supposed to be here!" Lara exclaimed.  
Her voice echoed across the room. Mohammed stood still. He was amazed  
even more than the previous room.  
  
And above it all, a huge pedestal stood along the middle of the  
left wall. On top of it was a small black scarab.  
  
"The Scarab Of Geknht!" Lara cried. She dropped her revolver on  
the hard ground, and ran up to the pedestal. BIG mistake. Lara stood  
on her tiptoes, and took the Scarab from its resting place.  
  
She may not have noticed it, but she had just triggered a series  
of complex traps. Already, pulleys and levers were being activated  
below the floor. Lara held the Scarab carefully, and examined it. No  
scratches of marks of distress could be picked up. Lara shrugged, and  
put the Scarab into her nifty backpack.  
  
It was exactly then when the floor started to shake. Lara lost  
her balance, and spun her arms in the air to gain her own weight.  
Mohammed started to get upset.  
  
"Throw the Scarab to me! Throw it to me!" Mohammed yelled over  
all of the rumbling. Lara pitched the black bug across to the  
entranceway where Mohammed was standing. He caught it with ease, and  
scrambled across to the Hieroglyphic-covered corridor. Lara was left  
alone.  
  
Then, all of a sudden, the fierce rumbling stopped. Lara ceased  
to sway. The statue of Anubis came to life.  
  
Lara took out her Berettas-the only firearm she had on her. With  
guns in hand, Lara backed up until she was parallel to the Scarab's  
empty pedestal. A quick thought of Mohammed driving away with the  
highly valuable work of art raced through Lara's mind.  
  
The Anubis statue broke loose from it's brick restraints, and  
carefully took a gold-plated sword from a receptacle seated next to  
him. He swished the sword three times, and stared at Lara with his  
beady red eyes.  
  
Lara had seen worse. She shot the statue once on the shoulder.  
It roared with anger. A dark steamy liquid spurted from the wound. It  
spilled onto the floor with a splash. The Anubis statue's eyes filled  
with rage. It howled in pain.  
  
The area of the wound was starting to melt. Great heaps of the  
statues skin started to slide off near the shoulder. Lara, although  
disgusted, shot the beast two more times-this time in the face, and on  
the middle of the chest.  
  
Anubis gave one last bloodcurdling scream. It screamed until his  
voice was drowning with it's own blood. It raised his arms to about  
his waist, and stared at Lara harder. He stared until his body was no  
longer but a pile of wet liquid.  
  
Lara put down her Berettas, and closed her eyes. She raised her  
eyebrows in disgust, trying to think of something more pleasant. Her  
throat moved up, and then down, signaling that she was swallowing  
hard.  
  
And just when she thought that things were going to get better,  
another Anubis statue broke out from metal straps holding it down. It  
spotted Lara.  
  
Lara made a mad dash to the exit where she saw Mohammed run  
through before. By then, it was too late. The second Anubis statue had  
a long narrow spear clenched in his hands, and he was ready to throw  
it. Lara kept running, with her pistols in hand, to the entrance  
hallway. The Anubis statue put his feet in a sprinting position, and  
dashed after Lara.  
  
Lara ran furiously through the Hieroglyphic-covered corridor,  
without looking back. The Anubis statue took his spear, and hurled in  
into the hallway where Lara was. His muscles flexed forcefully as the  
spear spun with precision; like a football being thrown correctly. The  
spear drove straight into the ground, next to Lara. Noticing the  
spear, Lara skidded to a stop, and turned around, and picked it up.  
She had an advantage now.  
  
Sprinting with all her might, Lara headed to the stairs where  
her incident began. She didn't dare to look back, but she had the urge  
to. The Anubis statue started to catch up. The shrouds hanging from  
the ceiling got in Lara's way. The chase was getting faster.  
  
Then, the unthinkable happened. The Anubis statue caught up from  
behind, and ran in front of Lara. There was no way to go. Lara was  
blocked by an enormous creature.  
  
Lara thought for a bit while the statue breathed in her face.  
Out of the blue, an idea popped into her head.  
  
Lara put the spear in front of her, and ran as much as she  
could, to Anubis. She put the spear as far as she could in front of  
her. The spear pierced through Anubis's neck, and the pointy end of  
the rod stuck out the back. It choked, and coughed up dark blood. Lara  
jumped back. Anubis fell to the ground, helplessly.  
  
Lara walked away unscathed, but shaken. Her footsteps echoed as  
she took the long journey up the stairs. She stepped over the body of  
Anubis on the way.  
  
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-  
_  
  
Mohammed ran his hands across the Scarab's textured back. He  
chuckled. Alone in his office at last. He swiveled around in his  
chair, with his feet still propped up on his desk. He was fascinated.  
He took the Scarab, and studied its eyes carefully. The eyes seemed to  
give off a relentless green glow, as if it wasn't so much used as a  
good luck charm, but used as a live treasure.  
  
There was a knock on the door. Mohammed cleared his throat,  
looked out the window overlooking Cairo, and called out.  
  
"Come in!" he said, preoccupied in his studies. The door opened  
with a creak.  
  
"Mr. Mellvin, someone is here to see you," a man replied, the  
door not even opened all the way.  
  
"Bring them in!" Mohammed yelled from his desk. The door opened  
wider, and a dark shadow entered. The shadow was in the shape of a  
woman. She swung her hips as she walked to Mohammed's desk. She took a  
seat without being invited, and crossed he legs. She opened up a  
binder. "May I help you?" Mohammed suggested. The woman ripped out a  
piece of paper from the binder. She didn't answer. The night made the  
office seem like a whole different place. The only light on was the  
light displaying all of Mohammed's various souvenirs on a glass shelf.  
That was located on the other side of the room. The woman made a noise  
with her lips, and finally started to talk.  
  
"Jacqueline Natla. Pleased to meet you," the woman introduced.  
"Do you know anybody by the name of Lara Croft?"  
  
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do," Mohammed recalled, remembering  
how he stranded the young woman in the middle of nowhere. He stroked  
his roughly shaven chin.  
  
"Good," Natla confirmed. She moved her face more towards the  
desk. Her left side of her face could now be seen. The illumination of  
the light made her seem "evil".  
  
"Why? Do you need something from her?" Mohammed asked in  
suspiscion.  
  
"No. I need her," Natla said through gritted teeth. She closed  
her binder forcefully. "Thank you. Have a nice night." She got up from  
her chair, and walked to the door.  
  
"But wait," Mohammed commented. Natla didn't turn back. She  
stood still, and extended her right hand to the ground. A blade hung  
from her hand. Mohammed shut his mouth right away.  
  
"Have you another comment?" Natla said nastily. She walked  
through the open door, and slammed it shut behind her. Mohammed puffed  
up his cheeks.  
  
"Right." He exhaled.  
  
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_  
  
Lara rubbed her forehead with her thumb and middle finger in  
stress. She had just plopped down in a chair after having to wait  
hours for a taxi to arrive to the remote location she was stranded in.  
  
The hotel room was beyond words. It was modernly updated, with  
metal and leather accents all over the walls and all over the couches.  
Lara got up from her leather lounge chair and walked over to the CD  
changer uniquely located over the fireplace. She took "Brubeck Plays  
Brubeck" from the CD collection in the corner, and placed it in the CD  
player. She closed the disk tray and returned to her seat. Annoyed by  
the first song, Lara picked up the remote, and played "Take Five". For  
some reason, the sound of a trumpet going up and down the scales  
seemed relaxing to her. It was just one of those unexplainable things.  
  
Lara sighed and let her head hang loose. She started to doze in  
and out. The night sky seemed to have an overpowering effect on  
hushing the city to tiny whispers. No more beeping car horns, or  
yelling people peeped through the windows. Just deep, dark silence.  
  
Lara was now sound asleep in her lounge chair, with Dave Brubeck  
droning on in the background.  
  
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_  
  
Mohammed still sat thinking in his swivel chair. He thought  
about how he cheated Lara out of getting the Scarab. A sudden wave of  
doubt crossed his mind. The thought of Lara after him. He tried  
frantically to get the thought out of his head, but it was no use. He  
was trapped. Mohammed knew very well that he had to return to work,  
and Lara would surely locate him there.  
  
He picked up the Scarab again and this time looked at it's green  
eyes. The glow started to get bigger, and BIGGER until it blinded him.  
Mohammed blinked, and he could feel pressure starting to accumulate.  
He blinked again. The powerful force fought at the back of Mohammed's  
eyes. His pupils started to look up, as to look at his hair, but they  
went beyond that. Mohammed's eyes moved backwards into his own head.  
He screamed in pain, and dropped the Scarab. Immediately, the pain  
went away.  
  
"Help me! Help!" Mohammed cried. He stumbled out of his seat. A  
man opened the office door, and ran over to the desk. He caught  
Mohammed just when he passed out, and yelled for assistance.  
  
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_  
  
She ran, and ran. The creature was nearby. She could sense it.  
In frustration, she sprinted into one of the small stores aligning the  
cobblestone pathway.  
  
"Hide!" she yelled at everyone in the trading post. They didn't  
listen. "Hide! You will all be killed!"  
  
An old man looked at a box of cornstarch. He turned it around,  
and slowly read the label. He must have decided against it because he  
put it back.  
  
"RUN!" she yelled again. Nobody even bothered to look up. A  
bullet pierced her skin. She moaned in pain as she hit the floor. She  
clawed the ground and screamed horribly.  
  
"RUN!" she repeated. The creature whispered into her ear that  
the power of the Scarab had been unleashed.  
  
Still, nobody looked up when the creature pulled her bloody body  
out of the shop. A trail of blood followed the creature down the  
sidewalk. The sun peeped through, and the moon arose into the sky. The  
stars spun in circles. Rain poured down.  
  
Lara awoke from her horrible nightmare. Dave Brubeck was still  
playing. Her legs were still intact.  
  
Lara sighed, and got up from her chair. She breathed out, looked  
out the window, and to her surprise, it was raining. What made it so  
unusual was that it was raining in her dream, and it rarely EVER rains  
in Egypt. Lara blinked trying to wake up from what she thought was  
another dream. It wasn't. It was actually raining in Cairo. 


	2. Gone Clubbing

'What a great way to spend the night!' Lara thought sarcastically. She glanced over to the modernized wall clock mounted above the doorway leading out of the hotel room.  
  
Seven forty-three. Exactly.  
  
Lara shrugged, and noticed that her sarcastic joke turned out to  
be true. She walked into the bedroom that was included with a robe and  
towels laid neatly out on the bed. She completely ignored them, but  
eyed her blue sequined dress hidden within the closet.  
  
Lara walked over to the closet and unhooked the dress from its  
hanger. She walked it to the bed and admired it. A few minutes later,  
she had the dress on, and she was ready to go.  
  
The dress was a sparkling blue, with the back completely open,  
until it reached about halfway down. It extended all the way to the  
ground, but it did not touch it. The bottom half split towards the  
thigh, and the cut continued to where the fabric ended. Lara finished  
putting on her high-heeled shoes, before exiting the hotel room.  
  
She took the elevator to the lobby of the hotel, and walked  
gracefully to the barrage of doors leading outside. She got a few  
stares, but now she liked it. Shoes clocking on the marble floor, Lara  
headed to a stretched limousine scheduled for someone else. She pushed  
aside a door, and walked out to the musty rain smelling night.  
  
"Excuse me Miss, but this limousine is reserved for a person  
other than yourself," the chauffeur directed at Lara. He still held  
the limo's door open. Lara entered, ignoring the chauffeur yelling at  
her.  
  
"Miss! Do you not hear me?"  
  
Lara threw her handbag to the other side of the car, and shut  
the door in the man's face.  
  
"To The Karniverous Kairo Klub, please," Lara ordered the  
driver. He craned his head to the side to glance a look at his  
customer.  
  
"Yes, Miss," he answered, in an American accent.  
  
"Not from around here, I see," Lara commented.  
  
"No. I'm here on business. Not everyday you get a chance like  
this, so I took advantage of it when I could."  
  
Lara nodded, but didn't respond. The driver pulled away from the  
hotel. He directed the car into traffic. Rain pounded down on the  
windshield.  
  
"Will you excuse me for a moment Miss?" the limo driver said,  
reaching into his suit. He pulled out his cell-phone, which was  
ringing.  
  
"Hello?" he asked into the phone.  
  
Lara couldn't hear the complete conversation, but she could just  
make out the voice of a woman at the other end. She talked about  
'getting' someone.  
  
"Yes, I have her," the driver said. He hung up, and put his  
phone back into his suit pocket. "Sorry about that," he told Lara.  
  
"It's not a problem," Lara said, now looking through her purse.  
It wasn't unusual to get Lady Croft skeptical. She pushed aside many  
papers, until she reached the bottom. There hidden where you would  
least expect it, sat a Desert Eagle pistol-complete with ammunition.  
  
Lara took the pistol out, and hid it underneath her purse. She  
just didn't feel comfortable now that she overheard the limo driver's  
conversation.  
  
The driver made a sharp left onto a road filled with clubs and  
lounges. Huge neon lights reflected off of the large puddles on the  
ground. People were running for shelter. Nobody was prepared for  
weather like this. It struck without warning.  
  
The streets were packed. People packed into the wide sidewalks.  
The mass of humans was so dense, it looked like a solid block. The  
streets were so packed that the limo moved at the speed of a snail.  
  
Every now and then, the driver would let out a curse, and beep  
at the car in front of them.  
  
"C'mon! Move it!" he said. He laughed in disbelief.  
  
"I'm in no hurry," Lara butted in. "It's just that I have to get  
out now." She tugged on the door handle, and the musty smell of rain  
overcame her. She stepped out.  
  
The driver turned around from his own 'adventures'.  
  
"Have a nice night!" he called from his seat.  
  
"You too."  
  
Lara shut the door, and walked into the crowd of people. She  
tightly grasped her purse in her right hand. She quickly hid the  
pistol in her garner, and walked ahead to the Kairo Klub.  
  
Her high heels clocked dully in the puddles. Lara pushed aside a  
few talking couples, and entered.  
  
The doors were wide open, and seemed to invite the cool draft  
inside. Lara moved over to the right, where a woman standing at a  
podium was handing out tickets.  
  
"Hi, and welcome to the Kairo Klub!" the woman exclaimed,  
sounding very much like a pre-recorded CD.  
  
Lara was too busy looking at the handsome bassist playing in the  
club to notice the woman.  
  
"Excuse me! Hello?" The woman behind the podium yelled rudely.  
  
Lara spun around, and greeted the woman.  
  
"Sign here." The woman demanded. She held out a pen, and  
gestured to a pad of paper, already filled with multiple names. Lara  
grabbed the pen, and signed quickly. She left the podium in such a  
hurry, she didn't notice that her pistol had slipped out from under  
her dress.  
  
A crowd of people gathering at the entrance gasped, and jumped  
back, acting as if the pistol was a dead rat, or something similar.  
The club, filled with partying people, heard the gasps, and stood  
silent. Lara finally noticed what had happened, and stood still  
herself. She breathed in deeply, and turned around. She marched after  
the weapon, and picked it up off of the ground; people still staring.  
  
Lara put the gun back into her garner, and tried to walk back  
into the club without a big commotion. But tonight was unusual, and  
Lara knew it.  
  
"Hold it woman!"  
  
More gasps arose from the crowd.  
  
"Drop the weapon, and nobody gets hurt!" Two police officers  
drew their own weapons at the clubs entranceway. Lara froze. What was  
she going to do?  
  
The police officers approached cautiously, knowing very well  
that they had a dangerous person on their tails. They approached  
closer, and closer, until Lara could feel their cold breath running  
down her back.  
  
Gathering all of her strength, Lara turned around, and looked  
the officers right in the eye.  
  
Their eyes were glowing bright green.  
  
The police officers surprisingly dropped their firearms to the  
ground. The crowd still stood silent. Then, the officers reached  
behind them, and pulled out a sharp, strangely cut dagger. They both  
reached their knives to Lara in a synchronized manner. Lara now gave  
up, and put her hands in the air reluctantly. She stared down at the  
blades aimed uncomfortably close to her stomach. They had strange  
writings engraved all over the sides, and they wrapped around to the  
tip of the blade. Lara was able to read Hieroglyphics. She translated  
the engravings aloud, with the entire crowd still in awe.  
  
"Forever sealed in hell, I am a servant. Slave of Osiris." Lara  
read, the officers still pointing the knives. Suddenly, the tilted  
their heads slightly to the side, and locked their focus on Lara's  
hair. They seemed to focus on the strands of hair hanging in front of  
her face. Their eyes started to twitch rapidly. The green glow was  
changing to red. Lara stared back, and they stood exchanging looks  
until a large bulge started to stick out of one of the officer's  
forehead. It disappeared quickly. Lara gulped. The bulge came back,  
now even bigger, and now, it stayed in its place.  
  
The crowd screamed, and ran to the door, leaving Lara and her  
opponents alone. The officers did not move, and sometimes Lara thought  
that they even noticed what was happening to them. More bulges popped  
up around their faces, and they got unbelievably large in size. A  
purple fluid was sloshing around inside the bulges. It was at that  
moment that the officers decided to charge. Lara moved out of the way  
just in time, and the knives the officers had in their hands swiped  
into the air. Lara made a frantic dash into the club, and tossed music  
stands, and folding chairs behind her so that her pursuers would have  
a hard time reaching her. Time seemed to freeze, and the chairs, and  
couches became a consistent multi-colored blur.  
Lara could almost sense the officers scrambling after her. In a  
frenzy, she ran up to the small stage, where the jazz instruments  
still laid from that night's performances. The officers made a path  
through the chairs, and kept a steady distance behind their target.  
  
Lara was out of breath, but she couldn't stop. She ran suddenly  
behind a cello, just a flying knife cut the strings in half. The cello  
made a horrible sounding strum. The officers still stayed on task.  
They sprinted almost equally as fast as a fish darting from a child's  
hand on its tank's glass walls. Their hands moved faster than their  
legs, as the inched in on Lara.  
  
Lara noticed the knife still stuck inside of the cello, and ran  
around in a circle like pattern to retrieve it. Running a top speed,  
Lara took the knife from the cello, and took aim at the officer  
disoriented by her sudden movements. As he pivoted around looking for  
his prey, Lara moved behind a huge column located to the right of the  
club. She peered out the side, carefully eyed the officer, and..  
  
Hit the officer right in between the eyes. But to Lara's  
surprise, he didn't do what he was expected to do. He just stood  
there, and looked at his partner. He didn't say a word when he gripped  
the handle of the dagger protruding out of his forehead, and pulled  
forcefully outwards in a painful notion. The dagger made an  
earsplitting cutting noise, and made Lara wince in disgust.  
  
She watched him throw the dagger to the ground. He turned to  
Lara, and their eyes met. For a few seconds, Lara felt a pure  
adrenaline rush.  
  
The officer's eyes gave off sudden flash of green light, greater  
than the glow it was giving off before. It blinded Lara. The officer  
filled with rage, and charged to Lara. He got closer, and closer.  
  
Until a shot rang out in the air, and the police officer  
stumbled backwards. Blood spilled out in a stream from his forehead.  
  
A dark shadow started to enter the club. Its facial features  
were still anonymous, as the shadow reached into its inside pocket,  
and took out a small cylinder. He twisted it onto the barrel of his  
pistol. The shadow's shiny, polished shoes stepped twice into the  
club.  
  
Lara looked, fascinated, but still very aware what could happen  
if her attention strayed. A man dressed in a dark suit, the one who  
just entered the club, shot the second officer in the heart, killing  
him instantly. His body spun around twice, and hit the ground hard.  
The dark shadow stepped out from the shadows. Lara gasped. To her  
surprise it was the American limo driver.  
  
" How did you-," Lara started. The limo driver interrupted her.  
  
" Got yourself in a bit of trouble," he said, raising an eyebrow  
beneath his sunglasses.  
  
"Take off the glasses," Lara ordered. The driver gripped the end  
of his glasses' frame, and yanked them off. Underneath were the most  
beautiful, deep green eyes Lara had ever seen. Both stood staring at  
each other, until a small groan broke out. The officer that got  
stabbed in the head started to gain strength, and stood up. He was now  
more powerful than ever.  
  
Letting out an ear piercing scream, the remaining officer shed  
his skin. His body was not of a police officer, but it looked like the  
Anubis statues that Lara had dueled with earlier that day. The eyes  
were not green now, but a strong, steady red. The limo driver shot his  
pistol several times. The silencer attached to his gun made a pellet-  
like sound, adding to the suspense of the situation. The officer's  
purple bumps were completely gone now.  
  
Lara took out her own pistol, and shot away at the officer as  
well. The officer's bruised, and bloodied body was shot at endlessly.  
Lara only ceased to stop when she saw herself that he was gone. The  
limo driver walked up to Lara, and greeted her.  
  
"The name's Gary. Gary Carmichael. I never caught your name." He  
said to Lara.  
  
Lara returned the favor.  
  
"Lara Croft." Gary held out his hand, hoping for the woman's  
delicately gloved hand to reach out for his. Lara refused to do so.  
  
Gary shook off the act, and snapped back into reality. He walked  
up to the dying officer, and raised his pistol.  
  
"Galiemtut mohanukuthed. Galiemtut mohanukuthed!" the officer  
pleaded. Gary showed no mercy. The officer raised himself up from the  
ground with his two weak arms, but fell back down again. Gary raised  
his .22 and shot constantly four times. The officer retreated, and  
screamed. He fell back to the ground.  
  
"Nice shot." Lara commented, hands on her hips. Gary turned  
around.  
  
"Thanks. But it was in a close range," Gary returned. Lara  
nodded. She walked up to Gary, and those unbelievably green eyes.  
  
"Yes. But what about that phone call you made? What did you mean  
by 'I got her'?" Lara asked. Gary looked guilty. He hesitated before  
talking.  
  
"Well," he started, starting to walk in little circles he made  
up himself. "I work for someone named Jacqueline Natla. She hired me  
to kill you. That's why that chauffeur made a big show. He knew that  
you would get inside for sure, but he wanted you to suspect that he  
didn't. But the phone call wasn't planned. She really did want me to  
kill you."  
  
"I see," Lara recalled, remembering all of the events as Gary  
told them. "Why don't we discuss this over a drink?"  
  
Sirens blared, as Lara and Gary disappeared out of the club  
doors.  
  
***  
  
"Yea, and I believed it too. It's really quite sad." Lara told  
Gary. She picked up her wine, and took a small sip. She put the  
velvety red liquid down. She swallowed.  
  
Gary, who sat across from Lara, understood.  
  
"So this.Mohammed man stole your Scarab?" Gary exclaimed, using  
hand gestures to prove his point.  
  
"Yes, that's correct."  
  
"And you want it back?"  
  
"Precisely."  
  
Gary let out a stream of air. He sat back into his chair. He  
extended his arms out across the armrests.  
Lara fidgeted as well. They sat silent for a while, and let the  
soft mutter of others in the café overcome them.  
  
Lara looked over at Gary again. He wasn't looking back at her.  
  
'I can stare all I want.' Lara thought to herself. She directed  
her eyes to Gary's. For some unforeseen reason, she just couldn't help  
but look into that young man's eyes.  
  
Gary looked up, and forced Lara to break her blistering gaze.  
  
"Uhh, so.." He stammered suddenly.  
  
Lara understood that the young man was trying to make a  
conversation, and she was being rude by not joining in.  
  
"So, this Natla woman, who I've dealt with before, is trying to  
kill me?"  
  
"Yea, that's it. She thinks you have the Scarab, but from your  
claims, Mohammed has it."  
  
"She's chasing the wrong person!"  
  
To Be Continued... 


End file.
